Past Journey
by linainverse2005
Summary: Twenty years after the first game, Kairi's daughter is fourteen years old and an orphan. Nobody knows who her father is, and her only hope of finding her mother is to journey seventeen years into the past... Please R&R!
1. Hide Me!

AN: The Disney characters don't age. Ever. :) That, and I know it seems unclear at first, but by the end of the first chapter most of it'll be explained.   
  
Chapter 1  
  
A girl with purplish-red hair and green eyes sat on the steps to the basement of the castle, thoroughly bored. And avoiding Donald. She was supposed to have her magic lesson this afternoon, but having Donald as her mentor took all the fun out of learning magic. The only spell she'd been able to master was Fire.   
  
She grinned. Fire was an excellent spell. She conjured a small fireball in her hand and watched the flames dance.   
  
She didn't see the broom coming up behind her until it tripped over her. She yelped as it tumbled into her fireball and ignited, rolling down the stairs. She managed to move in time before the next broomstick walked into her. The broomsticks weren't very intelligent. They always continued on their pre-programmed routine, regardless of what (or who) happened to be in their path.   
  
The broom that tripped over her seemed to be fine, if a little...er, a lot, charred. It had rolled to the bottom of the stairs, gotten up, and continued on its way.   
  
The fifteen-year-old sighed. How was she going to explain this one? She considered. Maybe she didn't have to. She stood up, glanced around to make sure nobody was around, and walked off, hands in her pockets and an innocent look on her face.   
  
She hadn't gotten two steps when she heard, "KOKO!!!"  
  
Koko froze. Donald was in the basement? Crap...   
  
"What is THIS?!" Donald demanded, appearing at the top of the steps, holding the charred broom.  
  
The pattern on the carpeting suddenly became fascinating. "Uh... looks like one of those broomsticks the king uses as cleaners."  
  
Donald glared. "I can see that. But WHY IS IT BURNT?!" he yelled.  
  
"Uhm... Wasn't it always like that?" she asked hopefully. At the outraged look on Donald's face she said, "Er... I mean, it was like that the last time I saw it?"  
  
"Rrraaaaaaa!" Donald cried, swinging at her with the broom. She yelped as it hit her in the head. It didn't hurt much, since Donald was a mage he wasn't that strong physically.  
  
Koko took off down the hall at full speed before Donald thought to use magic. She ran out the door to the garden, still hearing Donald yelling behind her. She saw Goofy laying on the grass in front of some bushes. Thinking fast, she dove under the bushes.   
  
"Koko?" Goofy asked. "Whatcha doin' under there?"  
  
"Shhh.... Donald's after me again. Don't tell him I'm here."  
  
Goofy gave her a thumbs up and winked.   
  
"Where'd she go?? Goofy! Did you see Koko come by just now?" he demanded.   
  
"H'yuk, she went thata way," Goofy said, pointing.   
  
Donald crossed his arms. "Goofy... Tell me the truth," he said slowly.   
  
Goofy fidgeted. "Well, I promised her I wouldn't tell ya she was hidin' under the bushes... Oops," he said, slapping his hands over his mouth.   
  
Koko hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Ah, Goofy..." she muttered, somewhat disappointed in her friend. It wasn't as if he didn't mean well, though.   
  
Zzzzt!  
  
Koko yelped as she was hit with a bolt of lightning. She dashed out from under the bushes at top speed, running towards the courtyard and from there back into the castle. Her best bet now was to hide somewhere until Donald's rage subsided.   
  
It wasn't that Koko was scared of Donald. She just didn't appreciate getting zapped over stupid things. Not that destroying one of the magic brooms fell under that category... but she still didn't want to get zapped.   
  
She'd lost Donald so she slowed to a walk, panting. She saw Pluto down the hall walking towards her. As soon as the yellow dog noticed her, he broke into a run and jumped on her.   
  
"Oof," Koko grunted as she landed on her back with Pluto sitting on top of her, wagging his tail happily. He dropped a letter with the king's signet on her face and then galloped off, pleased with himself.   
  
Koko sat up and opened the letter.   
  
  
  
Koko-  
  
Please come to the throne room immediately.   
  
-King Mickey  
  
  
  
Koko sighed. Did he already find out about the broomstick? Man that was fast... She got up and headed towards the monstrous doors leading to the throne room. She knocked before entering through the small cheat-door. She remembered how that door had amused her to no end when she was little.   
  
"Your Majesty?" she asked nervously.   
  
Mickey was pacing the throne room. He looked up when Koko spoke. "Hello, Koko. The reason I called you was..."  
  
"The broom! I know! I'm sorry!" she blurted.  
  
Mickey raised an eyebrow. "Broom?"  
  
Koko froze when she realized Mickey didn't know about the broom yet. "Uh..." she looked at the floor again and shrugged. "You'll hear about it from Donald soon enough," she sighed.  
  
Mickey seemed to dismiss that, as he continued, "We've found some information on the whereabouts of Kairi."  
  
"My mother?!" Koko exclaimed, shocked.   
  
Mickey nodded. "This way," he said, leading her to a secret door behind the throne. It opened, revealing a downward staircase. "She disappeared when you were only a year old," he explained, leading her down the staircase.   
  
"So you've found her?"   
  
Mickey hesitated. "Well, no... But we know why she disappeared. Twenty years ago when Donald, Goofy, Sora, Riku and I closed the door to Kingdom Hearts, Riku and I remained trapped inside. We got out within a few days and met up with Sora, Donald and Goofy and went in search of the door to the light, but we never found it."  
  
"But what does that have to do with Mom?"  
  
"I'm getting to that," Mickey said patiently. "After two years of searching countless worlds, we decided that the door to the light probably wasn't meant to be found yet. So we went to Destiny Islands to find Kairi, and Sora and Riku stayed there with her. Then three years later, Kairi started remembering things about her home world, and once she described it to Sora he realized it was Traverse Town. So he took her there to visit, and she decided to stay. During this time she got pregnant, and we could never get her to tell us who the father was. And then about a year after giving birth to you she just vanished. And it wasn't until now that we knew why."  
  
Koko remained silent, waiting for the king to continue.   
  
"Apparently not all the heartless were destroyed. Since Kairi's heart had been transferred to Sora, she was without a heart for a long period of time, and this is something that one can never really fully recover from. It weakened her resistance, and once she got back to Destiny Islands after the door to Kingdom Hearts was closed, she was infected."  
  
"Infected?" Koko asked.   
  
"By a Heartless."  
  
"W-What'dyou mean?"  
  
"Well, with the door to Kingdom Hearts closed, the remaining Heartless disappeared. Died off. Except for this one. It found Kairi and lived within her, slowly feeding off her energy. About a year after you were born is when it consumed her completely."  
  
"So... there's no way to bring her back?" Koko asked sadly. She'd always imagined meeting her mother. Guess she can kiss those dreams goodbye, she thought bitterly, staring at the floor yet again.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Mickey said, smiling. "If she were never infected in the first place..."  
  
"Well, yeah, but..." Koko trailed off. They'd reached the end of the stairs, and before them lay a room that looked vaguely like the Gummi Garage, and in it was a ship that seemed half Gummi Ship and half... something else entirely. It was equipped with parts that in all of her days hiding from Donald in the Gummi Garage Koko had never seen anything like.   
  
"This is a Gummi Ship with the ability to travel through time," Mickey said.   
  
"So you guys can go back in time and save Mom?" Koko asked, awed as she walked up to the ship and laid a hand on the hull.  
  
"That's where you come in," said Sora, walking up behind her. Riku was with him.   
  
Koko blinked. "Wha...?" She was both surprised by their sudden appearance and confused by what they said.   
  
"You see, a person can't exist in two places at once. Meaning, none of us can go back there, since we were alive. You, on the other hand..." Riku said.   
  
"Me? You mean I'm gonna go?" she said, almost excitedly.  
  
The three nodded.   
  
"To Destiny Island? And get to see Riku and Sora when they were my age?" she said, her face vivid with excitement.   
  
"Whoa, hold on," Sora said. "This isn't a vacation. Yes, you will see   
  
Riku and I as we were when we were your age. Yes, you will actually get to meet us." The look on his face indicated he wasn't entirely comfortable with this notion.   
  
"But under no circumstance can you tell them you're from the future," Mickey said.   
  
"Top-secret!" Koko agreed happily.   
  
"We've figured out when she was affected. We'll be sending you back there two days BEFORE that. You'll need to find the Heartless and destroy it before it can infect Kairi," Riku said.   
  
The four walked inside the ship. It was rather large inside. The pilot's seat was in front of the main window, and behind it there was enough room to spread out blankets for a bed.   
  
"Cid already programmed it to get you to the right place and time. All you have to worry about is once you get there," said Sora.   
  
Riku pushed a button on the controls and a panel opened up, revealing a view screen. "This will allow you to communicate with us while you're in the past."  
  
Koko nodded. The three explained several more details of the ship and her mission to her, and it was decided that she'd leave tomorrow morning.   
  
  
  
Well? Review! Tell me whatcha think!  
  
Random facts: Writing Mickey's lines was hard. As was trying to figure out how to put Donald's trademark scream into letters.   
  
Erik (my brother): This had more BS than Star Trek! It doesn't make any sense! Where'd the time machine come from??  
  
Me: Mickey built it. Duh.   
  
Erik: .... 


	2. Past or Bust!

Heya! Thanks for the reviews!  
  
Kintora: Thanks! Hope ya like this chapter!  
  
Serini the WaveTrapmaster: Thanks!  
  
AnimePrincessChianadal: Yay! ^_^  
  
Black-Rose72: Thank you! You'll get your wish this chapter!  
  
Nagem: Thanks so much! It makes me happy ^_^  
  
Ultimega: Thanks for the review... even though I'm not sure if it's good or bad. ^^;; Erik: I know I'm right. Thank you.   
  
Chapter 2  
  
Koko sat in the Gummi Time Machine, which was known as GTM, inside the Gummi Garage, ready for takeoff. She gave a thumbs up to Chip and Dale in the control booth, and the ceiling began to open up.   
  
"Here we go," she murmured. She took one last glance at everyone in the control booth, basically everyone who lived in the castle and anyone who visited often, such as Sora and Riku. She waved at them, smiling, before the giant gloved hand lifted the GTM and she drifted into space.   
  
Koko took a deep breath as the autopilot switched on and everything around the ship began to swirl. "Please let that be because of time travel," Koko said nervously. It had never looked like this when she traveled in a Gummi ship before...   
  
She didn't have much time to dwell on this, however, since the time travel seemed to work as fast as a warp drive. She was already staring down at the beaches of Destiny Island. It hadn't changed much in seventeen years she observed. Some trees were smaller than she remembered, but that was about it.   
  
The GTM was about to land, and she was about fifty feet over the beach. She saw what she guessed must be Wakka and Tidus dueling on the beach, and Selfie watching the two from the dock. Suddenly they all froze and looked up.   
  
Koko gasped, realizing she was going to hit them if she didn't do something quick. She grabbed the yoke and swerved to the right, crashing into the bridge connecting Paopu Island to the main island, destroying it. She slid to a stop just beyond Paopu Island, the front of the GTM digging into the sand.   
  
  
  
"What was that?" Tidus asked, awed.   
  
"I dunno, man," Wakka said nervously. He gripped his Blitzball tighter, ready to defend from any attack.   
  
"I hope they're friendly," murmured Selfie. However, she too, held her weapon ready.  
  
They waded into the water to stand near the ship. From inside they heard shuffling. It paused for a moment, then more shuffling, then a loud clang, followed by a girl's voice yelping in pain.   
  
Kairi, Riku, and Sora ran out of the door leading to the cove, having heard the crash from there.   
  
"What happened? Oh!" Kairi said, seeing the ship in the shallow water.   
  
"Is that a Gummi Ship?" Sora asked.  
  
"Sure looks like one," Riku said.   
  
From inside the ship they heard a loud thud, and the door was shoved outward a few inches. There was another loud thud. The door swung open and a young girl tumbled out, landing facedown in the water at Wakka's feet.   
  
"Bleah!" she cried, sitting up spitting out a mouthful of sand and saltwater.   
  
Wakka laughed, amused. "I don' tink she's gonna hurt us, ya?" he said.   
  
The girl looked up, suddenly realizing there were people around. Watching her. She stood up, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.   
  
"Are you alright?" Kairi asked, jumping down from the ledge and splashing over to where the girl stood.   
  
The girl's eyes widened at the sight of Kairi. It took her a moment before she could say, "Yeah... I'm... fine."  
  
Wakka and Tidus exchanged a glance, wondering why this new girl had such a strange reaction to Kairi.   
  
"Your forehead!" Kairi said, worried.   
  
"Huh?" asked Koko, putting a hand to her forehead. She felt a sharp pain as she touched it.   
  
"You're cut. Don't touch it," Kairi said. "C'mon, there are some bandages in the shack," she said, grabbing Koko's arm and leading her towards the main island.   
  
"Is it just me, or..." Wakka whispered to Tidus and Selfie, following Kairi.   
  
"The new girl looks a lot like Kairi," Selfie finished for him.  
  
"Yeah. Maybe they're from the same world?" Tidus suggested.  
  
Wakka and Selfie shrugged.   
  
"By the way, I'm Kairi. What's your name?" Kairi asked the new girl as she got some bandages from inside the seaside shack.   
  
"Koko," she replied.   
  
"This is Sora, Riku, Tidus, Selfie, and Wakka," Kairi said, indicating each person. "Sit down," Kairi told her.   
  
Obediently Koko sat down on the warm sand, and Kairi kneeled in front of her to clean the cut.   
  
"Where ya from?" Sora asked.  
  
"I... don't remember," Koko said. This is exactly what Sora and Riku from her time told her to say, knowing that it was the simplest. It would be easily accepted, and there were no details to remember.   
  
"There you go," said Kairi, smiling as she finished putting on the bandage.   
  
"Thanks," said Koko.   
  
"You remember anything about your ship?" Riku asked, wading out to stand next to the GTM.   
  
"Yeah, I think so," said Koko, splashing out to join him. Because of the way she had landed, the door was more than four feet above the ground. She grabbed the lower edge of the frame and tried to pull herself up. When she started slipping, Riku cupped his hands on her heel and pushed her into the ship.   
  
"Thanks," she said, sliding down the floor to the control panel. She sat down in pilot's seat as Riku pulled himself into the ship.   
  
"Hang on," she said, glancing at him before pulling a level on the control panel.   
  
Two panels on either side of the hull opened, and a gloved hand- much like the ones in the Gummi garage- reached out and dug their fingers into the sand, lifting the ship and raising the bow so that it was even with the stern and then lowering the ship so that the bottom of the hull rested on the sand.   
  
"Uh..." Riku said as water started coming in through the open door.  
  
"Gah!" Koko yelped and quickly pulled a different lever. The ship rose so the door was about a foot over the surface of the water and most of the water that had gotten in the ship drained out.   
  
"That was clever," said Riku sarcastically, smirking his higher-than-thou smirk.   
  
Koko shot him a look that was a mix between a pout and a glare.   
  
"What sort of Gummi ship IS this, anyway?" Riku asked, standing behind the pilot's seat.   
  
Koko frowned, looking at the readings on the control panel. She may not have had the GTM any more than a couple hours, but aside from the time travel mechanism it was still a Gummi ship. "Uh... the kind that stops working when you do a nosedive into the sand," she muttered.   
  
Riku laughed. "No kidding," he said.  
  
Koko sighed. She didn't want to seem too concerned about the GTM; that would be very suspicious considering she 'forgot' her world. But she WAS concerned. Very concerned, especially since the time travel mechanism only worked outside the atmosphere, which was probably a safety precaution. An open field now might be a crowded city in ten years.   
  
"Well, guess this is fine as it is..." Koko said. "There's not much I can do..."  
  
Riku shrugged and jumped into the shallow water below the ship and waded back to shore. Koko followed.   
  
"Well, we really need to get back to the raft," Sora said, heading back towards the cove.   
  
"We're building a raft to see what's beyond the ocean," Kairi explained to Koko. "Wanna come?"  
  
Riku rolled his eyes, not wanted an outsider to get involved in what had been their project for a few years now.   
  
Koko pretended not to notice this. "Uh, no that's okay," she said. Not just because of Riku. She knew Sora and Riku really well in her time and she didn't want to slip and say something about them she shouldn't know, or hadn't even happened yet.   
  
She remembered how Sora and Riku had told her about the raft. They kept trying to build one for several years to see what was beyond the ocean of their world. To their disappointment, nothing was there. When they sailed far enough, the only found themselves on the other side of their island.   
  
Kairi shrugged, and the three returned to the cove.   
  
Koko sighed, scratching the back of her head. She really needed to get on with her mission, but she couldn't do it while everyone was here... She guessed she'd have to wait until tonight. Which wouldn't be too long, considering the sun was already beginning to set.   
  
"Somet'in on ya mind?" asked Wakka.   
  
"Uhm.... no... not really..." she mumbled.   
  
"I have to get going," Tidus said. "Mom'll want me home before dark."  
  
"Me too," Selfie said. She and Tidus left.   
  
At Koko's questioning glance, Wakka said, "My parents don' really care what time I get home. Hey, you gonna need a place to sleep, ya?"  
  
"No. I can sleep in my ship," she said.   
  
Wakka was quiet for a minute before he turned and looked her in the eyes. "You sure ya memory's gone?"  
  
Koko's eyes widened. "Y-Yeah... Why do you ask?" she said, trying to sound innocent.   
  
"Because ya don' act like someone who lost their memory. And I can tell by da look on ya face dat I'm right," he said, taking a step towards her. "And I tink dat the others will catch on very quickly to dis, ya?"  
  
"I-I don't know what you're talking about! I can't remember anything!" she cried, backing away fearfully.   
  
"Koko, calm down. I'm not gonna hurt ya," he said, grabbing her shoulders. "I just wanna know why you're lying about your memory, ya?"  
  
"I..." What could she say? She couldn't tell him the truth... "I... can't..." she stammered.   
  
"Why not?"  
  
"What difference does it make? My past is none of your business!" she said angrily, pushing him away.   
  
"Fine. Whatever, ya?" he said, throwing up his hands. He couldn't help but think there was more to it than that, but he doubted she'd tell him. "Maybe I should head home..." he said. "Later, ya?" he said, waving as he walked down the beach.   
  
Koko sighed and walked back towards the GTM. Maybe she shouldn't have yelled at him... She shook her head. That was the least of her worries. She hadn't even been here more than a couple of hours and he was already onto her. No doubt the others were very far behind...  
  
She climbed into the ship, closing the door behind her. She sat down in the pilot's seat and turned on the monitor. Nobody was there. They'd probably be back in less than five minutes, she thought. She flipped on another screen, the one that Mickey had set up to tell her where the Heartless was.   
  
"Scanning...." the robot voice said. "Scanning... Please wait...."  
  
Koko tapped her fingers on the armrest, waiting for either someone to come back or for the computer to finish scanning.   
  
"Processing results... Processing... Please wait..."  
  
Koko glared, already annoyed at the automated voice.   
  
"There are no Heartless in this vicinity. Thank you."   
  
Koko leaned forward. That couldn't be right. There HAD to be Heartless here. "None? No Heartless at all? Not even a little one?" she said hopefully. "That can't be right. Scan again!" she ordered.   
  
"Scanning..."  
  
At that moment Riku came on the other screen. "Hey, kid. Hope you weren't waiting long. This guy fell asleep," he explained. "Hey, wake up!" he said, looking at something on the ground. A moment later Goofy appeared next to Riku.   
  
"Heya, Koko," he said cheerfully.  
  
Riku sighed at Goofy's... well, goofiness. Goofy left and Riku turned back to the screen.   
  
"There are no Heartless in this vicinity. Thank you," the computer repeated.   
  
"What was that?" Riku asked.   
  
"It said there's no Heartless," Koko said helplessly.   
  
"That can't be right! There HAS to be!" Riku said, concerned.   
  
Koko pushed some buttons on the panel. "I'm running a diagnostic on the GTM." She paused. "It says everything's normal, except for the engine."  
  
"The engine?" Riku asked.   
  
Koko explained how she had crashed, and then added. "It's just a minor problem, something just got knocked loose. I should be able to fix it..." she said defensively.  
  
"Listen, Koko, if there are no Heartless on that island then we have a big problem."  
  
"Ya don't have to tell me that!" Koko exclaimed.   
  
Riku sighed. "Maybe there's a problem with the scanner..." He held up a hand as he saw Koko about to protest. "I KNOW you ran a diagnostic, but maybe there's something it didn't pick up. We'll look into it and get back to you in a few minutes. Over and out," he said, his image disappearing from the screen.   
  
Koko sighed and leaned back in the chair. She hadn't expected this to be easy, but this... This seemed like too much...  
  
OK, hopefully another chapter next week! I'll try to update every week, but I'll be gone over Christmas break... maybe if I get far enough ahead I can make ya a shorter chapter, but no promises! Gomen! Please review! Feel free to submit ideas as well! 


	3. Spying!

Hey! I got it on time! Again! Go me! To the reviews!  
  
Nagem: I'll probably switch to that eventually, but I'll try to stay on a steady schedual as long as possible!   
  
BrilliantCrescentStar: Thanks, it's fun writing in dialects! Especially when you start writing in dialect for non-diaglouge parts. O.o Goofy's... not on destiny island... and as for the raft, well, it's after the game, but they're building another raft to sail around their world... I didn't explain that too well... but it wasn't really an important detal... I'll try to do better on that though.   
  
Chapter 3  
  
Riku and Sora stood with their ears to the GTM's hull, listening to Koko's conversation.   
  
"You guys! We shouldn't just spy on her!" Kairi said.   
  
Riku pulled away from the GTM while Sora remained there to see if anything else would be said. "Kairi, you KNOW there's something weird about her. Wakka noticed too. She doesn't have amnesia. She's lying. When you came to this island, you were disoriented, confused, and scared. She's none of those things. She hasn't asked any questions at all... Wakka, Sora and I are all getting the impression that she knows exactly who and where she is."  
  
"But she seems like a good person!" Kairi said.  
  
Riku took a deep breath. "Nobody's saying she's not," he said gently. "We're just trying to figure out what's going on."  
  
Wakka had gone to get Tidus and Selfie and the three of them were standing in the water with them.   
  
"Kairi," Wakka said gently, "If ya'd seen da look on her face when I asked if she really did loose her memory, ya'd know what I mean, ya?"  
  
Kairi stared at a piece of seaweed floating in the water.   
  
"She was talking about Heartless in there just now," Riku said. "Judging from that conversation, it sounds like she came here looking for them."  
  
"Kairi, I know you'd like to trust her, but right now I just don't think we can," Tidus said gently.   
  
  
  
Koko twirled around in the pilot's seat, waiting for Riku to come back. Suddenly she grabbed the control panel, stopping herself. It sounded like there were voices outside... She listened intently. Yes, there were definitely voices outside.   
  
She got up and walked slowly to the door. She carefully placed her hand on the lever, and swung the door open quickly, conjuring a fireball in her hand as she did so.   
  
Koko found herself staring into the shocked faces of the other teenagers. She blinked surprised and a bit confused. "Wha-What are you guys doing outside my ship?" she asked, relaxing.   
  
Everyone stared at the ground, fidgeting. Except Riku, who looked her in the eyes defiantly. Koko's eyes fell on Sora, who still had his ear pressed to hull, too surprised to move. She glared and smothered the fireball in her fist. "I see," she muttered, realizing what was going on. "You were spying."  
  
"Yeah, and I'm rather glad we were," Riku said acidly.   
  
"Oh?" asked Koko, too angry to be concerned about what they may have found out.   
  
"So tell us Koko, what were you gonna do with the Heartless you found on this island?" Riku asked.   
  
"Kill them."  
  
"I'm sure," he said, glaring.   
  
"Riku! Stop! You're not even giving her a chance to explain herself!" Kairi said.   
  
Koko jumped into the water to stand with everyone. She closed GTM behind her. "Look... Please, guys... I can't tell you everything, but I'll tell you what I can. There's... no point in trying to say I've lost my memory anymore." She stared into the water as she said this, her foot digging a hole in the sandy bottom.   
  
"C'mon, let's go back to the beach," Tidus suggested.   
  
The group walked back to the land and sat down on the beach. Koko couldn't help notice the rest chose to sit in a group away from her. She took a deep breath and began.  
  
"I... I'm really sorry I lied to you... I wish I didn't have to. And yes, I suppose you could say I came here in search of a Heartless. A Heartless. There should only be one. But my scanner can't detect it. I'm pretty sure my scanner's fully functional. I think it may just be the Heartless is too small and weak to be detected."  
  
"So why come all this way and make up a fake story just to kill off a Heartless that's not even a threat?" Selfie asked.   
  
Koko took a deep breath. "That's the thing. I never said it wasn't a threat."  
  
"But if it's too small for your scanner..." Sora began, thinking of all the Heartless he'd slain.   
  
"Please, just listen. It's only a threat to someone who's had their heart stolen. Even if said person had their heart back." Koko stared at the ground again. She raised her arm and pointed to Kairi. "If there are any Heartless left on this island by sunrise tomorrow, you... you'll disappear in about five years."  
  
"How do you know that?" asked Sora quietly.   
  
Koko sighed. "I can't tell you how I know."  
  
"Then how the hell can we trust you?" Riku demanded.   
  
Koko couldn't think of a reason, but Wakka answered for her. "I don' tink we can afford not to, ya?"  
  
"How sure are you there's only one?" asked Sora.   
  
"I'm positive. But I might be able to get the scanner to pick up weaker signals. If not then we have to hunt it down ourselves."  
  
"I might be able to help you with that scanner," Sora offered. "Riku too."  
  
Riku nodded, although it was obvious he still didn't trust Koko. Sora saw the nod and smiled. "Alright, let's get to work!"  
  
Sorry it was kinda short... but this was a good place to end it... 


	4. A Look at the Future and a Confession!

Sorry for the wait! A lot's happened... a trip to Florida, studying for the midterm, the midterm, the snowday that made the miderm get delayed... I doubt the next wait will be quite that long, althought I doubt I should make any promises... ^^;;  
  
Nagem: Feel free to critique, I could use some advice! The only other way I could get it is... *shudder* show it to my english teacher! O.o Actually, I don't have all the details of the plot worked out, but it'd be a good idea if not for the whole "can't exist in two places at once" thing.   
  
Kintora: Sorry, that probably didn't qualify as soon ^^;; As for the questions... wait and see!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Back in the future, Riku returned back to the screen, only to find an empty chair. "Koko?" he asked. No response. Had something happen? Had she gotten the scanner to work? Or... he thought with a surge of dread... had his past self proven to be less trusting than he had hoped?   
  
He rolled his chair over to another screen, one that was in contact with the king. "Mickey, are you there?" he asked.   
  
The king's concerned face appeared on the screen. "Riku? What's wrong?"   
  
"We have a problem. Several, actually."  
  
Mickey frowned. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Well, Koko crash landed, so something's been knocked loose in the engine room. I don't know the details, but she says she can fix it. But her scanner isn't picking up any Heartless, and the diagnostic says there's nothing wrong with the scanner. I went off-screen for a moment to try and get more information, and when I came back she was gone."  
  
"Well, I wouldn't worry about the ship. If she says she can fix it then she probably can. And as far as her being gone, who knows. It could be anything. There's nothing on that island that would put her in danger, so I doubt she's in trouble. But the scanner... has she checked the range it's set to? Or the Heartless it's supposed to pick up? The settings could have been changed in the crash, and if that's the case the diagnostic wouldn't pick it up."  
  
Riku sighed. "I'd think she's already checked it."  
  
"Actually, I don't think she knows it can be adjusted. We had it preset so that she wouldn't have to mess with it."  
  
"Lovely..." Riku muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.   
  
At that moment, Koko reappeared on the screen. Before Riku could say anything, she quickly said, "Can't talk, bye!" And with that, her screen was turned off.   
  
"What the...?" Riku muttered.   
  
"Riku? What happened?" asked Mickey.   
  
"She shut off her screen!" he exclaimed.   
  
"Maybe the others came to check up on her?" Mickey suggested.   
  
Riku sighed. "This is probably my fault..."  
  
"How would you know that they'd visit her?" Mickey asked, puzzled.   
  
"No... Not me-me, past-me." He sighed again. "I shoulda warned her I'd raise hell once she got there..." He shook his head. "How's things on your end?" he asked.   
  
Now Mickey sighed. "I'd rather you didn't ask."  
  
"That bad?"  
  
The king nodded. "Over and out," he said.   
  
Riku leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I should be out there too," he said to himself. But he was needed here, being familiar with Destiny Island, he, Sora, and Goofy-who visited often- were best qualified to give advice.   
  
Meanwhile, Donald and the king....  
  
Mickey flipped down the lid on his communicator. He knew he left Riku with the impression things were going bad, but he'd rather not tell him just how bad.   
  
"I'm not sure how long we can keep them back," Donald said to Mickey, watching the dark mass on the horizon. The Heartless.   
  
"We just have to hold them back long enough for Koko to complete her mission. Another day or so. After that... this won't even have happened."  
  
"What did you tell her?" asked Donald, who knew very little of the private briefing Mickey had given to Koko.   
  
"Only what she needed to know," Mickey said. He was beginning to regret that decision... Maybe Koko had a right to know just how much rested on her mission.   
  
"I assume this didn't fall under that category?" Donald asked.   
  
Mickey shook his head. "I didn't want her to worry too much."  
  
Donald turned his gaze back towards the horizon. "They'll be here by dawn."  
  
Mickey considered. They couldn't hope to beat this many Heartless at once, even with all three Keyblades. But they didn't have to win. They just had to hold them back until sunrise tomorrow, to keep the base safe until then. Once Koko completed her mission, everything that had happened up until now would change. That was what he kept telling himself...  
  
Koko ran through the shallow water ahead of Riku and Sora. She had to turn off that communicator before Riku and Sora got there without looking suspicious. It would be disastrous if they saw the future Riku. He hadn't changed much, so there was no doubt they'd recognize him. And she couldn't very well say, "Just a minute. I need to turn off the communicator so you don't see who I'm talking to." Yeah. Because that would go over SO well. Like everything else that's happened she thought bitterly.   
  
Koko pulled the door open and lifted herself in, shoving herself through the door rather ungracefully. She really should see if she could move the ship onto dry land. She got up and scrambled to the control panel, and, seeing Riku had returned, said, "Can't talk, bye!" and quickly flipped the switch off. She'd have to explain later.   
  
"What's the hurry?" asked Sora, climbing into the ship.   
  
Think of something, think of something NOW! "Uh... Well, you see... I thought... the tide was coming in! And I wanted to make sure the ship wasn't getting flooded!" she said quickly. Oh yes, she was good.   
  
Riku climbed into the GTM after Sora. Koko turned away at the look on his face. He still didn't like her. She flipped on the scanner. "This is the scanner," she told them.  
  
"Scanning..." the automated voice said flatly.  
  
"Maybe it'll pick something up this time around?" said Sora hopefully.  
  
"There are no Heartless in this vicinity. Thank you."  
  
"Or not," Riku muttered.  
  
The three teens tried a few things, but Sora and Riku didn't know any more than Koko, and it all added up to very little.   
  
"This is USELESS!" Riku growled, slamming his fist on the chair. "For all we know she's not having trouble with anything and she knows EXACTLY what she's doing!" he cried, glaring at Koko.   
  
"Riku, calm down," Sora said. He smiled. "You can tell by looking at her she's a bad liar," he said, trying to lighten the mood.   
  
"Or a good actor," Riku muttered.   
  
Koko had had enough. "Look, Riku. I don't know what you have stuck up your anus but if not anyone else think of Kairi! I'm doing this to save her life! If I don't take care of this, she'll die! I don't know what you think I have to gain by tricking you!" she cried angrily.  
  
Riku spun around to face her. "I have no idea what you have to gain. But I know one thing: Your story doesn't make sense. Why didn't you just tell us you needed to save Kairi? Why give us that bull about a lost memory? Huh?" he demanded. "How do you know she'll disappear? If that IS the truth, you're not telling us the whole story! Why not?!" he yelled. "I wanna know-"  
  
"RIKU! That's enough!" Sora shouted. "Just because you don't completely understand what's going on doesn't mean she can't be trusted! Let's just giver her the benefit of the doubt for now."  
  
"What? So she can just stab us in the back later?" Riku demanded. He snorted. "You've got to be joking."  
  
"Hey, what's all da yellin'?" asked Wakka, appearing in the doorway. He pulled himself into the ship. "We can hear you all de way from da beach, ya?"  
  
Riku shot a glare at Koko before jumping into the shallow water and walking towards the shore.   
  
"What's his problem?" Wakka asked.   
  
Sora shook his head. "I dunno," he muttered as he left the ship too.   
  
Wakka sensed tension in the air even after they left. He laughed nervously. "So dey're mad dey can't fix da machine, ya?" he said in a vain effort to lighten the mood. He looked over at Koko who was slumped in the pilot's seat with her arms folding on the control panel and her head resting on top of them. "Koko? You alright?" he asked.  
  
Her shoulders shook as she let out a muffled sob. Wakka walked up behind her and put a hand on her back. "What happened back dere?" he asked softly.  
  
She lifted her head and wiped her eyes. Leaning back in the chair, she told him what Riku said. When she finished, Wakka said, "Look, Koko. I trust ya. And I tink Sora does too, ya?"  
  
"Thanks," she mumbled.   
  
"But... I still don' understand why ya had to make up the memory loss bit. It doesn't make sense, ya?" he said. "Riku does have that going for him. Why not just say what your intentions are instead of lying?"  
  
Koko sniffled. "I'dve liked to, but... I was told... that I had to say my memory was gone..." She said, hiccupping.   
  
"Ya mean you're not workin' alone? Someone else is callin' da shots? Who?" he asked, curious.   
  
"I... they're... my friends. And they want to save Kairi," she mumbled. She wasn't sure what to say anymore. She was trying to be as honest as possible without telling what she wasn't supposed to.   
  
Wakka sighed. "You're... what? Thirteen, fourteen?" he asked.   
  
"Fifteen."  
  
"Ah. Well, why send a fifteen-year-old on this sort of mission?" he asked. "I don' get it, ya?"  
  
"They couldn't come. Don't ask why. They just couldn't," she muttered. She wiped at her eyes again.   
  
Wakka leaned on the armrest and put a hand on her shoulder. "Koko... I've given you my trust. Give me yours. Please. Dis ting's no good bottled up inside. I promise I won' tell de others if you don' want me to. Why's Kairi so important to you?"  
  
Koko hiccupped. "I... can't..." she shook her head.   
  
"Koko, please. I promise it'll stay between us, ya?"  
  
Koko remained silent for a moment before saying, "She's... my mother."  
  
Well, of couse, it can't be as simple as just saving Kairi can it? Something more sinister is brewing behind this! What else hasn't King Mickey told us? Find out next chapter! (Maybe...) 


	5. A Meeting With Queen Heartless!

Yay! Another chapter! This one takes place mostly in the present, so I hope you like it! Please don't forget to review!!  
  
Nagem: yay! i've never gotten a review that long! ^^   
  
Chapter 5  
  
King Mickey watched the mass of Heartless move steadily closer. They were moving faster than he had anticipated. He looked over at Donald, who had fallen asleep leaning against the wall. Briefly Mickey wondered if he should wake the mage. He decided against it, since Donald would need to be in top shape when the Heartless got there.  
  
So would Mickey. But he knew sleep wouldn't come to him. He was beginning to wonder if he should have told Koko more...   
  
Before Mickey could pursue this thought further, he noticed something flying towards the castle. A winged Heartless. He drew his Keyblade, suddenly glad he had stayed awake.   
  
As the Heartless flew closer, Mickey noticed it was carrying a white flag of truce. He lowered his Keyblade as the Heartless landed on the battlement, folding its wings. "You are king?" it asked. It spoke in a harsh whisper, as if it was difficult.   
  
"Yes," Mickey said. He hoped Donald wouldn't wake up and do something stupid.   
  
"Queen Heartless want meet. Mile outside castle gates. Two hour. You alone," it hissed.   
  
Mickey nodded, stunned. Seeing his confirmation, the Heartless spread its wings and sprung from the battlements, winging its way back to its master.   
  
"Queen Heartless...?" Mickey wondered aloud.   
  
  
  
Koko waited in silence for Wakka's response. Maybe she shouldn't have told him... but she did feel a little better after getting it out.   
  
"How...? You jus' said you're fifteen. Kairi's too young to have a child! Let alone a fifteen year old, ya?" he said, puzzled.   
  
Well, there was no help for it now. "I'm from the future. Twenty years," she said resignedly.   
  
"Huh..." He smiled. "Guess dat explains why ya look alike, ya?" he said, nudging her shoulder playfully. "Hey, do I know you in da future? What's it like? Do ya live here?" he said excitedly.   
  
"Wakka!" Koko laughed. "I can't tell you that!"  
  
Wakka rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess so. It'd spoil da surprise, ya?" He sighed in wonder. "But it'd sure be cool to know..." He said, leaning back on the control panel.   
  
"Wakka..." Koko said, crossing her arms stubbornly.  
  
Wakka laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mind me, I'm jus' talkin', ya?" He rested his hand on the control panel, nudging one of the buttons. The one that turned the screen on.   
  
"Koko! Finally! Why'd you leave so suddenly?" Riku shouted as soon as he saw her screen come back on.   
  
"Riku?" asked Wakka, puzzled.   
  
Koko yelped and shoved Wakka away so that Riku couldn't see him.   
  
"What was that?" Riku demanded.  
  
"Nothing! Nothing! Everything's fine!" Koko said, her voice higher than normal. She grinned innocently to prove her point.  
  
"Hey Koko, what's-" began Wakka. He was silenced with a kick in the shin.  
  
"Was that Wakka?" asked Riku.   
  
"NO!" Koko squeaked.   
  
"Koko..." Riku began sternly. "You'd better be telling the truth."  
  
"Heya, Riku!" Wakka said, leaning over Koko to see the screen. "Don't get mad at Koko, ya? I'm da one who pushed the button."  
  
"KOKO! What's he doing on the GTM??" Riku demanded, ignoring Wakka.   
  
"He just came to talk to me!" Koko said defensively. "You never said I couldn't let you guys on the GTM!"  
  
"Talk to you?" Riku repeated. "Isn't it about five in the morning there? Why so early?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"I've been up all night. You and Sora tried to help fix the radar, you got pissed and left, Sora followed, and then Wakka came to see what all the yelling was about."  
  
"Yelling?" Riku asked.   
  
"You were VERY pissed. I didn't know you used to be such a jerk," Koko commented.   
  
"Hey, you're really future-Riku?" interrupted Wakka. "You don't look much older."  
  
"...Thank you..." Riku said skeptically. He blinked. "Wait a minute... Koko! Did you...?"  
  
"Uhm...." Koko fidgeted and looked at the ground.  
  
"KOKO! How could you do this?! You're putting your whole mission in jeopardy! How much did you tell him? It was just him you told, right?!" Riku yelled, outraged.  
  
"Hey, hey!" Wakka cut in again. "Riku, tink about what you're doing! I dun know what ya expected, but ya can't just send a kid on dis sort of mission, ya?"  
  
"You think we had a choice?" Riku demanded. "You don't know nearly as much as you think you do, Wakka, so I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut," he growled.  
  
Wakka looked as if he would have liked to make some witty comeback, but he remained silent.   
  
"Look Riku, you can beat me into submission when I get back. But I need to know what to do about the scanner."  
  
Riku sighed. "Okay. We think that the settings got jarred when you crashed, so you'll have to go in and reset them manually. See the panel above the screen? You'll need to unscrew it."  
  
Koko nodded and got a toolbox out from under the pilot's seat.   
  
"I'd suggest you get some coffee first. This is going to take awhile," Riku said.   
  
Mickey mounted the chocobo and snuck out through the gates. He hadn't told anyone about the message the Heartless had given him. They'd insist on coming, or possibly try to stop him. But he had to go. He had to find out who this Queen Heartless was.   
  
He sighed. Looking at the dark mass of Heartless steadily moving closer, he realized how little of the situation he had been aware of until recently. He had known the Heartless had started reappearing once Kairi disappeared, but he had no idea they had multiplied so quickly until last month. Apparently they had been biding their time until then, when they had started attacking.   
  
Of course, they had been working on the time travel for years before then. They started by sending probes back in time to explore, and try to see how Kairi had disappeared. That was how they found out about the Heartless infecting her and connected that to her disappearance. And in turn, the appearance of powerful Heartless for the first time since Kingdom Hearts had been sealed.   
  
They had realized that they would need to send someone back in time, not only to save Kairi but to save the entire kingdom. Heartless could not be slain by machines; it took either magic or a Keyblade.   
  
Mickey remembered the first time they tried to send a human back in time. Riku had bravely volunteered. The plan had been to send him back a day and see how that went. It had gone fine for awhile, but soon Riku began to feel horribly ill. Mickey remembered seeing him doubled over in pain on the view screen. The look of horror on his face when he looked at his hand, which was becoming transparent. He had somehow managed to pull through and get himself back to the future.   
  
When he had returned he was unconscious. He was in the sick wing for a week. That was when the found out the hard way that a person can't exist in two places at once.   
  
Mickey came out of his thoughts when he realized he was at the designated meeting place. He halted the chocobo and got off.   
  
"Heya, Mickey!"   
  
Mickey jumped at the sound of Goofy's voice behind him. He turned to see Goofy and Donald ride up behind him.   
  
"Goofy? Donald? Wha...?" Mickey was speechless.   
  
"I heard that Heartless talking to you, Mickey," Donald explained.   
  
"Then you should have heard it tell the king to come alone," said a cold female voice. A woman in a dark cloak rode up behind them, mounted on a Behemoth. As it got near them, she gracefully slid off its back. She stood about five and a half feet tall, the cloak covering her entire body. The hood hid all of her face but the mouth, which was twisted into a heartless (no pun intended) smirk. From what they could see, she appeared human.  
  
"Are you Queen Heartless?" asked Goofy.  
  
"Indeed," she said, patting the Behemoth on the nose. The beast grunted and lay down obediently.  
  
"What do you want with the king?" Donald demanded angrily.  
  
"It's none of your business, but since you're out here anyway, I suppose it doesn't really matter." She turned to face them, still smirking. "I came to negotiate."  
  
"What do you want?" Mickey asked.  
  
"Kokoro no Ko. Or as you have affectionately nicknamed her, Koko. Give her to me, and we shall withdraw from this world and never darken your doorway again."  
  
"Never!" Donald said immediately.  
  
"It's not your decision!" she hissed angrily. She paused for a moment before the cold smirk reappeared. "It's the king's. But just think about it," she said before Mickey would protest. "One life. Just one life would save everyone in this world. It's hardly an offer you can refuse."  
  
"Koko's life isn't mine to give," Mickey said coldly.   
  
Queen Heartless laughed. "Well, then why bring her out here? See if she won't be willing to save her kingdom?"  
  
"We couldn't even if we wanted to. She's safe where you can't find her," Goofy said, glaring.   
  
"Oh? And where is it exactly, that I can't get to her?" she asked.   
  
"The past," Goofy said defiantly.   
  
"GOOFY!" Donald cried in horror.   
  
"THE PAST?!" growled Queen Heartless. Another pause, and the cool smirk returned. "This wouldn't have anything to do with saving your precious Kairi, would it?" She chuckled. "No, don't answer. The look on your face is the only response I need." She laughed harder. "You really have no idea what she is, do you? Mickey, with all your technology and magic combined, I thought you would have known Kokoro no Ko for what she TRUELY is."  
  
"Listen you! I've had enough!" cried Donald. "Who are you really? What do you want with Koko?!"   
  
Her smirk broadened. "What do I want with her? She's my creation. She belongs to me and only me. As for who I am... That, I thought was more obvious than Kokoro no Ko's true nature." She sighed in mock disappointment. "But it seems I have given you too much credit. You really don't know as much as I thought you did," she chuckled, removing her hood, and Mickey, Donald, and Goofy found themselves staring into a face they hadn't seen in over fourteen years.   
  
OMG! Cliffhanger! What will happen?? I'm leaving tomorrow for a ten day trip, so I won't be able to work on or post any of the fic. Sorry!   
  
Yeah... the whole thing with the Disney characters riding chocos, I dunno if it seemed like an overly big deal to anyone, but when I mentioned the idea to my brother he died laughing. So when you see Disney characters riding chocos, remember my brother.   
  
And yeah, Wakka in this is a bit different than Wakka in FFX, but I kinda imagined him as being childish as a teen, not in the spoiled brat way, but in the trusting, naive, carefree way. When I first thought of this fic, I didn't think he'd play such a big part. But then when Koko landed at his feet in the second chapter... I just pictured the two becoming good friends.   
  
Wow, that was a long author's note. But I hadn't really done any for this fic yet. *shrug*  
  
Please Review! 


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